Description
At the beginning of the twentieth century, synagogue paintings in Eastern Europe and Israel began incorporating the Star of David and the Temple Menorah—symbols infrequently featured in early modern synagogue art. These symbols were predominantly employed decoratively: as patterns reminiscent of wallpaper, in elongated strips with repetitive sequences, or as central elements organizing figurative compositions. Existing scholarship on the Menorah and Star of David in the 'Ades Synagogue in Jerusalem has mentioned an influence from the Art Nouveau movement. This paper proposes an additional source of influence: the 'neo-Moorish' temple decorations of the nineteenth-century oriental synagogues, which utilized geometric forms, including both explicit and implied Stars of David and seven-branched Menorahs. Originating in Western Europe, these designs generally eschewed nationalistic connotations. This approach continued in Eastern European temples until the early twentieth century when these decorative elements began to be incorporated into smaller synagogues traditionally characterized by figurative art. In these contexts, the newly introduced motifs—now imbued with Zionist themes—integrated with established figurative traditions, significantly transforming the European synagogue painting in Eastern Europe. This paper examines the evolution of these motifs from aesthetic ‘oriental’ elements to symbols of Zionist nationalism and their compositional impact on twentieth-century synagogue decoration.| Period | 29 May 2025 |
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| Event title | Research Workshop of the Israel Science Foundation European Encounters: East–West Discourse in Modern Jewish Art, Literature and Culture |
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Ramat Gan, IsraelShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |